Having not sat to watch a movie in a rather long time and being an avid 'Afro-Passionista.' I was delighted to find on a recent long haul flight that one of the movies available under the 'latest' selection was '12 Years As A Slave' featuring the beautiful and elegant Lupita Nyong'o. As soon as I settled in my seat and I was served a nice drink, I selected the movie and watched it unfold. I am Afrocentric. Yes black is beautiful, Africa and Africans have got soul! I have been fascinated by this latest global Afrocentric phenomenon, Lupita Luongo, I think she epitomizes African beauty. She is gorgeous and all natural. I had read about her success both in the movie industry and the modelling industry and I believe she is a positive role model for African women, especially the young generation who rarely have their beauty showcased and celebrated. She has talent too, having won an Oscar for her supporting role in this movie. No doubt she is an accomplished actress with extensive training. As the story line unfolded, the taste in my mouth grew sour. This movie is humiliating, it does not tell us anything we do not already know about slavery, about how black people were dehumanized and abused. We know all that. So what is the point of this movie? From the beginning to the sordid end it ridiculed black people, it put us down several centuries and took us to a place we want to forget but are never allowed to, through the continuous constant oppression and rape of Africa by the rest of the world. There was nothing positive about that movie. Lupita is a fine actress, but she was totally humiliated and ridiculed in that movie. Yes I know it was acting but the line was so so blurred this time around. There was no need for that nude scene other than to feed into the sadistic fetishness of some people, no wonder at all about the Oscar prize. There is no need to keep taking us back to those places that we left ages ago and would rather leave to history. Even if these stories need to be told for what ever reasons, let them be told in dignity. We want the pride of Africa and Africans restored and films like '12 Years As A Slave' do nothing for the cause. And why is it that black women only win Oscars when they take on roles that trivializes their femininity and humiliate their race? Halle Berry famously won an Oscar for her role as a black sex play thing in 'Monster's ball'. Yes this movie was adapted from a true story written by a 'free' black man who was captured and sold into slavery for twelve years. This is one true story that did not need to be made into yet another visual orgy of the degradation and humiliation of black people. The power of imagery is so profound and black people do not need to add these kind of images to the burden we already carry as disenfranchised inhabitants of the center of the world, AFRICA.
Perverse Art?
Having not sat to watch a movie in a rather long time and being an avid 'Afro-Passionista.' I was delighted to find on a recent long haul flight that one of the movies available under the 'latest' selection was '12 Years As A Slave' featuring the beautiful and elegant Lupita Nyong'o. As soon as I settled in my seat and I was served a nice drink, I selected the movie and watched it unfold. I am Afrocentric. Yes black is beautiful, Africa and Africans have got soul! I have been fascinated by this latest global Afrocentric phenomenon, Lupita Luongo, I think she epitomizes African beauty. She is gorgeous and all natural. I had read about her success both in the movie industry and the modelling industry and I believe she is a positive role model for African women, especially the young generation who rarely have their beauty showcased and celebrated. She has talent too, having won an Oscar for her supporting role in this movie. No doubt she is an accomplished actress with extensive training. As the story line unfolded, the taste in my mouth grew sour. This movie is humiliating, it does not tell us anything we do not already know about slavery, about how black people were dehumanized and abused. We know all that. So what is the point of this movie? From the beginning to the sordid end it ridiculed black people, it put us down several centuries and took us to a place we want to forget but are never allowed to, through the continuous constant oppression and rape of Africa by the rest of the world. There was nothing positive about that movie. Lupita is a fine actress, but she was totally humiliated and ridiculed in that movie. Yes I know it was acting but the line was so so blurred this time around. There was no need for that nude scene other than to feed into the sadistic fetishness of some people, no wonder at all about the Oscar prize. There is no need to keep taking us back to those places that we left ages ago and would rather leave to history. Even if these stories need to be told for what ever reasons, let them be told in dignity. We want the pride of Africa and Africans restored and films like '12 Years As A Slave' do nothing for the cause. And why is it that black women only win Oscars when they take on roles that trivializes their femininity and humiliate their race? Halle Berry famously won an Oscar for her role as a black sex play thing in 'Monster's ball'. Yes this movie was adapted from a true story written by a 'free' black man who was captured and sold into slavery for twelve years. This is one true story that did not need to be made into yet another visual orgy of the degradation and humiliation of black people. The power of imagery is so profound and black people do not need to add these kind of images to the burden we already carry as disenfranchised inhabitants of the center of the world, AFRICA.
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